Kathy YakalIntuit TurboTax Self-Employed 2017 (Tax Year 2016)TurboTax's top-tier Self-Employed service is expensive, but it's the best. Plain-spoken help resources, thorough exploration of tax forms and schedules, and an unparalleled user experience make it our Editors' Choice for tax-prep software.

Expensive. Some answers in help database are supplied by non-expert users. Misleading name; not only for the self-employed, it's simply TurboTax's highest-level offering, and the only one that lets you file a Schedule C.

Bottom Line

TurboTax's top-tier Self-Employed service is expensive, but it's the best. Plain-spoken help resources, thorough exploration of tax forms and schedules, and an unparalleled user experience make it our Editors' Choice for tax-prep software.

Intuit's TurboTax family of tax preparation software has won more Editors' Choice awards than any of its competitors, thanks to its thorough coverage, its comprehensive help system and, above all, its best-in-class user interface. This year is no different, although it's worth noting that TurboTax users pay a considerable premium for that excellence. This year, TurboTax shares the Editors' Choice with the more reasonably priced TaxAct Premium Online.

The lineup and pricing of TurboTax have changed slightly for 2017 (for filing your 2016 taxes). The company is once again offering its Federal Free Edition (free federal and state for 1040EZ and 1040A filers), which I'll be reviewing soon. For $54.99 federal and $39.99 per state, the Deluxe version adds support for the Schedule A, as well as live on-screen tax advice, storage of past returns, and import of your 2015 TurboTax data. You need TurboTax Premier ($79.99 federal, $39.99 state) if you have to report on investment income and rental property. I reviewed the top-of-the-line product, TurboTax Self-Employed ($114.99 federal, $39.99 state), which is the most expensive offering in this year's tax services reviews. It's also the only TurboTax version that lets you record income and expenses on a Schedule C.

As of this writing, TurboTax is available at a discount ($89.99), but that price may go up closer to April 15, since Intuit doesn't guarantee its prices like TaxAct does. If you're going with TurboTax, this is one more reason not to file your taxes at the last minute.

A Familiar Format

Personal tax preparation websites still use the format Intuit introduced for its desktop software products in 1993. And with good reason: It works beautifully, saving time, easing frustration, and dramatically reducing errors. Instead of shifting your attention among the Form 1040, related forms and schedules, IRS instructions, and third-party reference books, you go through the tax preparation screens one at a time, in a logical order.

TurboTax started this trend of tax preparation services as giant wizards. Intuit's service (and all its imitators) ask you a lengthy series of questions about your personal situation on a variety of tax-related topics. You answer and then click a button to advance to the next screen, and you keep answering and clicking until the service says you're done. Then it combs through your return, helps you fix any problems, and helps you file or print the finished product after you've finally paid for your federal and however many state returns you need to file.

All this time, you never have to look at an IRS form or schedule, because TurboTax and its competitors complete them for you in the background. What you do see—especially in TurboTax—is expert help in the form of simply worded explanations of tax concepts that either accompany the questions or open in a small pop-up window.

Making Taxes Friendlier

Every personal tax preparation website has a personality of its own, a combination of its voice, its user interface (even the choice of fonts, graphics, and so on), and its skill at guiding you through its wizard without confusing you. TurboTax's personality is on display from the start, even before you start filling in dollar amounts. First, it asks for basic personal details, such as addresses, Social Security numbers, and dependents. It asks about life events you may have experienced during the last year that might affect your taxes, though it isn't quite as exhaustive in this area as TaxACT Online Premium.

All the while, TurboTax takes a conversational and friendly tone, whereas competing services, such as Jackson Hewitt Online Premium, tend to be more formal and businesslike. You may like this friendliness, especially if you're nervous about your taxes or this is your first time using a tax prep site, or you may just want to get on with it. In any case, the extra chumminess isn't overdone, nor will it slow you down.

Before you dive into reporting income, TurboTax has one more question for you: Do you want additional protection? Intuit offers an add-on service called MAX Assistant & Defend. For an additional $59.99, you get expert audit assistance, as well as tax identity restoration and refund recovery if someone steals your Social Security number and nabs your money. You also get identity theft monitoring, priority support, and additional security measures. It's not a bad deal. Some competitors also provide audit help, but no one else offers such a deep set of services.

A Clean, Lean Look

TurboTax's user interface has been pared down to the bone over the years. It uses a layout similar to its competitors', but its look is sparser and cleaner. A horizontal toolbar at the top divides the site into its primary sections, such as Personal Info, Business, and Personal. There's nothing outside of the data entry screen other than a running, real-time tally of your refund or taxes due and links to your account, the search box, and the contact page.

The site tackles what is probably the most complex element of a self-employed taxpayer's return right at the start: business income and expenses. It first asks whether you want to select the topic areas that pertain to you (business, rental and royalties, farm, etc.) or whether you want TurboTax to walk you through every possible scenario. Competitors offer these options, too. If you're new to tax preparation, you have a complicated financial situation, or you've been through multiple major changes during the past year, it's advisable to let TurboTax quiz you about every possibility. If something doesn't pertain to you, you can easily click through it using the navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen. Otherwise, you can just visit the pertinent sections.

It's hard to get absolutely lost if you simply read everything on the screens. TurboTax makes it clear what it's looking for on every page, and how you can respond. For example, when it's asking for interest or brokerage-statement details, it displays two blank fields, one for the related financial institution and one for the dollar amount. If you're filing for more than one individual, you'll need to indicate who the recipient is. You do this by clicking a button in front of the correct name (or by clicking Both of Us, if that's the case), then clicking the Continue button to move to the next topic. You can also add another 1099-INT, or use the Back button to return to the previous page.

This is how you communicate with TurboTax throughout the tax preparation process. It asks a question or makes a statement about what it wants and provides buttons and lists of options and blank fields for your answers. Unlike TaxAct, TurboTax lacks a comprehensive navigation outline that lets you zero in on the exact screen you want if you're working out of sequence.

No other service can match the streamlined elegance of TurboTax, from its clean look to its simple, logical progression though the tax topics you have to get through. For most users, this is the most critical aspect of tax preparation. If the interface and interview are clear and simple, e-filing your taxes will be, too. That doesn't mean you won't occasionally need help, but TurboTax hits a home run there, too.

Understandable Help

There was one advantage to using the actual IRS instructions when you prepared your taxes in the old days: They were comprehensive. They may have been difficult to understand if you weren't a tax preparer, but the answer to your question was in there, somewhere.

Part of the beauty of personal tax preparation websites is that while you rarely need to search for an answer, the explanatory content has been rewritten so many times over the years that it's usually easy to understand. TurboTax does an especially good job here, in terms of both comprehensibility and accessibility. It often provides brief, simple explanations of tax topics as it asks its questions. Many words and phrases are hyperlinks that open small pop-up windows containing additional detail. Quite often, there's a Learn More link that does the same thing. Sometimes, TurboTax even guesses at a question you might have and provides a link, just in case. It's an excellent and deep system, and it makes the tax process much less stressful.

There are other ways to get help, too. For example, if you're not sure whether you qualify for a credit (Child and Dependent Care, for example), TurboTax asks a series of questions to determine your eligibility. You can also search a voluminous database of questions and answers for more thorough explanations of tax topics. One caveat: Look to see who answered the question. Most often, it will be identified as coming from something like TurboTax FAQ or TurboTax, which is preferable. But anyone can answer questions. So, make sure that if the source isn't TurboTax, it's a tax authority of some sort.

All TurboTax's competitors provide one or more of the aforementioned help options, but their offerings vary greatly in terms of coverage, depth, simplicity, and layout. TaxAct, for example, displays context-sensitive Q&As off to the right side on many screens. H&R Block Premium is good at providing relevant help, too, and its Refund Reveal feature displays the actions you took that contributed to your refund or obligation.

Unique Tax Tools

TurboTax has one innovative help method no other service offers. Its SmartLook feature connects you to credentialed tax professionals via video. You can see and hear them talking in a window, and you can grant them access to your in-progress return, letting them see what's happening on your screen so they can answer questions and correct problems.

Finally, TurboTax encourages you to provide more thorough documentation than competing sites, such as TaxSlayer Premium and Jackson Hewitt Edition do. For example, when you're entering business expenses for advertising, you can break them down into types (business cards, promotional items, and so on) and subtotals. The site provides examples that might be relevant to your specific industry, even less commonly known ones, like warehouse club memberships (Other Office Expenses). If you are ever audited, you'll thank yourself (and TurboTax) for documenting your expenses so carefully. Most competitors simply ask you to enter a total for every category. You can maintain detailed expenses year-round if you use the subscription to QuickBooks Self-Employed that's included. That's an excellent bonus feature.

A Strong Finish

TurboTax Self-Employed's final review process is as good as anyone's and better than most. It checks your return for accuracy and audit risks, and provides fields for your changes and additions, unlike TaxSlayer, whose review is not as streamlined. Then TurboTax moves pertinent data into your state return and helps you complete that.

TurboTax Self-Employed is significantly more expensive than the other tax services I reviewed this year, and they're all capable of preparing and filing complex returns—even the totally free Credit Karma Tax. If you used another site last year and liked it, I wouldn't necessarily suggest switching to TurboTax; stick with what you know. Still, TurboTax is a clear Editors' Choice this year because of its solid tax topic coverage, excellent help options, and the best user experience there is. TaxAct Premium Online also wins an Editors' Choice nod, for the best tax preparation option if you're on a budget, thanks to its combination of exceptional preparation tools and guidance at a reasonable price.

Intuit TurboTax Self-Employed 2017 (Tax Year 2016)

Bottom Line: TurboTax's top-tier Self-Employed service is expensive, but it's the best. Plain-spoken help resources, thorough exploration of tax forms and schedules, and an unparalleled user experience make it our Editors' Choice for tax-prep software.

Kathy Yakal has been annoying computer magazine editors since 1983, when she got her first technology writing job because she tagged along with her ex-husband on a job interview. She started freelancing and specializing in financial applications when PCs became financial tools for consumers and small businesses (after a stint at a high-end accounting software company). She’s written for numerous publications over the years, and about the only one that’s survived her besides PC Magazine (where she started writing in 1993) is Barron’s. When she...
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